When Earth Meets Sky
by loz it
Summary: Another LJ fic. This fic is being written to be as realistic as possible, so if you have any suggestions please R&R and let me know!
1. Those Hazel Eyes

Chapter 1 – Those Hazel Eyes

Lily Evans sat quietly in a spare compartment on board the Hogwarts Express, her nose buried in _Theology of Magic_. She was glad that she was a Gryffindor Prefect. It was so much easier reading in the prefects' compartment with no one to bother her, than in her friend's compartment. She enjoyed the company of her friends, especially after the holiday break, but she did not enjoy the company of the Marauder's. Finishing her chapter, she put her book on the empty seat beside her and began to think about her friends.

Natalie Mercury, or Nat as her friends called her, had shoulder length blond hair, that often had coloured streaks through it and brilliant blue eyes that changed with the colour from blues to greens depending on her surroundings. Her father was a famous Quidditch player and she was currently the only girl on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She had previously lived in France, Canada and America and had moved to England at 6 years of age. She was an only child, but never acted spoilt or conceited. She was very loud and always talking and much of the time, she never knew when to be quiet. Natalie had not understood why James and Lily had hated each other and continuously tried to make them friends. She had still not succeeded.

Sarah Topaz had medium brown hair and hazel eyes. She came from a family where her father was a wizard and her mother was a muggle, but she had spent her whole life in the wizarding community. She had an older brother called Daniel who was 23 and a younger sister called Anna, who was 13. She was a Quidditch fan but she didn't like flying and she was happy to sit and watch Nat play. Sarah had grown up with the Potters and Prewett's and they were still close friends. She was quiet and loud at the same time. She was quiet and shy around people especially when she didn't know them, but with her friends, she was always happy and bubbly.

"Hey, Lily," called Nat, poking her head into the compartment, "The food trolleys at our compartment and Sarah said I should come and find you."

"Ok," replied Lily, picking up her book and standing up, "I'm kinda' hungry." And she followed Nat down the hallway.

In the hall, Lily found that she was glancing into the compartments as they passed and not paying attention to anything else. Thus, she bumped into someone walking in the opposite direction.

"Ouch!" cried someone from nearby.

She looked around to see James Potter sprawled near her feet, where he had fallen when they had collided.

"Sorry James," began Lily, crouching on her knees and picking up her fallen book. Her hand reached the book at the same moment James' did and his hand rested for a moment on top of hers. She was surprised and abruptly moved her hand. She knew that James had a _small_ crush on her but she had never managed to convince him that she didn't like him. Through out the whole of 5th year, he had insisted on asking her out. Every worth while conversation between them had seemed to end in him asking her out. At first, she had thought that it was just something that would pass in time, but she had given up on that theory halfway through last year.

Suddenly, she was pulled back into reality by James hand coming into her range of vision. She must have looked surprised, because James grinned.

"It's just a hand," he said, still grinning.

Placing her hand on his, she allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"Thanks," she replied, when she was back on her two feet. She noticed that her hand was still in James and quickly removed it.

Grinning once more, James turned and made his way to a compartment down the hall. He stopped before he entered.

"You're friends are in here too," he called down the hall and then he disappeared into the compartment.

Smiling slightly herself, she made her way to the compartment through which James had just disappeared.

When she arrived in the compartment, she found a heated discussion about Quidditch in full swing.

"They are definitely _not_ going to win!" said James, crossing his arms.

"Yes they are," replied Sirius, "They're the best team in the comp this year."

"Ok, cool it guys," said Nat, from the other side of the compartment, "Are we going to eat this food or not?"

Everyone dug into the food newly purchased from the food trolley and it was gone within minutes.

A while later, Lily found herself with her nose buried, once again in her book.

"Come on Evans," called Sirius from the seat next to the window on the other side of the compartment, "Don't you even put that book down?"

"Lay off Sirius", said Remus good-naturedly, who was sitting next to him, "You don't know what it's like to have a good book to read. One that you can't put down… one that is just too good that you…"

"Hey, before you get all misty eyed talking about your precious books, I was only joking!" Sirius quickly retorted, looking slightly offended. "And I _DO_ know what it's like to have a good book in front of my face. I just have the sense to put it down"

"Ha, what sense?' remarked James, who was sitting across from Lily.

"Exactly, and Sirius… those _magazines_ that you read, they don't classify as "books!" added Remus, a smirk playing across his face.

"Yes they do and I'll have you know …" out of the corner of her eye, that James was staring at her. She looked at him and he quickly glanced away, a small smile playing across his lips. Was it her imagination or had there something different about the look in his eyes when he was looking at her?

Lily's thoughts then turned to James and his friends. They had aptly named themselves the 'Marauder's of Hogwarts' in 3rd year, as they went around pulling pranks, tricking teachers, students and ghosts. Lily found them very annoying but everyone else seemed to find them charming. James had jet black hair that was always messy and deep hazel eyes that you could get lost in. His family were pure blood, but weren't like most pure blood families, who thought that if you weren't a pure blood, you were worthless. He was an only child and lived with his parents in a large house near in the same neighbourhood as Sarah. James was the slyest of the four Marauders and was often out in the castle late at night yet somehow managed to never get caught.

Sirius Black had shoulder length dark brown hair and dark brown eyes and also came from a pure blood family, most which were Slytherin's. Many had been surprised, none more than Sirius himself, when he had ended up in Gryffindor as instead of Slytherin, where his whole family and younger brother Regulus had been. Sirius was the boldest of the group. Neither James nor Sirius took school seriously and they never paid attention in class, yet somehow they had managed to pass all their exams to date.

Remus Lupin had sandy blond hair with light brown eyes. He often joined Lily in the library and was the most sensible of the four boys. Lily thought that Remus was probably the Marauder that she liked, as a friend, the most. He was Gryffindor Prefect with Lily and often had to find a way to get all the boys out of trouble.

Peter Pettigrew had light brown hair and eyes and was considered by many to be the 'hanger-on' of the Marauder's. However, Lily knew that the four were all close friends. Peter was the quietest of the four and only occasionally spoke up when he thought it necessary.

"Come on James," said Sirius, standing up and stretching, "I think the trains slowing down and we need to get changed." Reaching the compartment door, he glanced back at the three girls and added dramatically, "Sorry girls, but you'll have to survive the remainder of the journey to Hogwarts without us"

"I'm sure they'll be fine'," replied James pushing Sirius between the shoulder blades to make him move. And they left the compartment, with Remus and Peter following closely behind.

"I think we'd better get changed too," remarked Sarah, "For once Sirius was right. They train is slowing down."

"All right," replied Lily, standing up and turning towards the luggage rack and their trunks, "Let's get changed."

ooooooo

Meanwhile, at the other end of the train…

…a group of Hufflepuffs were also having a discussion about Quidditch, although not quite as heated as the Gryffindor's. There was only one Hufflepuff not involved in the conversation because he was too caught up in his thoughts about a certain girl. Her waist length red hair… her emerald green eyes…

"Hey Amos! Sorry to bring you back from whatever fantasy you were living in, but…," began one of his friends.

"THE TRAINS JUST PULLED INTO THE STATION AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN GOT CHANGED YET… finished another, "And you know what McGonagall's like if you show up not in your school uniform", he added as an after thought.

"Not exactly what I was going to say but", began Friend 1

"Oh well whatever but we DO have to get changed," said Friend 2

"Yeah, yeah I'm going," replied Amos

The Hufflepuffs quickly changed from casual clothes to school uniform and gathered their belongings. As they stepped into the line of people already swarming in the corridor, they found themselves almost right behind Lily and her friends. The only thing separating them was a large group of second years. As they watched the girls jump off the train onto the Station platform, Amos found that he couldn't stop looking at Lily.

But little did he know that his eyes weren't the only pair of hazel eyes glued to Lily Evans.

The other pair belonged to James Potter.


	2. Marauder's Gone Missing

Chapter 2 – Marauder's gone missing

Making their way into the Great Hall for the Start of Term feast, Lily let out a sigh of relief. It was so good to be back at Hogwarts and away from Petunia.

Taking their seats at the Gryffindor table, the girls were soon joined by James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. They began talking about their holidays but were interrupted minutes later by the doors to the Great Hall opening and the entrance of Professor McGonagall, leading a long line of scared looking first years.

The sorting ceremony began and, by the time they reached 'K', Lily found her attention wavering. She began to daydream about nothing and finally, the last student, Caitlin Walla was sorted into Gryffindor and Dumbledore stood up at the staff table.

"Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore in his loud, carrying voice, "To new hands, welcome, to our old students, welcome back. At the moment all I have to say is… dig in!" He sat down just as the shining plates and goblets in front of them fill fit to bursting with delicious food.

The students began to tuck into their food and the noise in the Hall escalated so that the Gryffindor fifth years had to yell to have a conversation. The conversation, to Lily's dismay, was about the Quidditch World Cup next holidays and this conversation carried on for the whole meal. Nat, Sarah, and the Marauder's were halfway through planning the trip, when Dumbledore stood up again.

"Now that we are all, hopefully, full of good food and drink, it is time for a few Start of Term notices. I am asked to remind youfor apparently the 776th time that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students." At this, he his gaze lingered on the four boys sitting opposite Lily. Smiling, he continued, "Quidditch trials will begin in the coming weeks. If you are interested, please leave your name with your head of house. The first match will be in the middle of October. I also have an important announcement but that will have to wait until tomorrow as I'm sure you all want to be well rested for your lessons tomorrow. Off to bed," he finished, sitting down and beginning a conversation with Professor McGonagall.

ooooooo

"It's good to be back, don't you think?" said Lily as she flopped down onto her four-poster bed in the Gryffindor Tower.

"I know," replied Sarah, "Nothing compares to being back at Hogwarts."

"Yeah, I guess you must be glad to be away from Petunia," said Nat, as she gave a huge yawn and hoped into her bed having already changed for bed.

"Yeah," replied Lily, rummaging around in her trunk for her pajamas.

By the time Sarah and Lily were ready for bed, Nat was already fast asleep.

"Goodnight" called Lily

"Night Lily, "came Sarah's muffled reply from behind her curtains.

And the fifth year Gryffindor girls fell fast asleep.

ooooooo

The next morning, as the girls were heading down to breakfast, they saw the James, Sirius and Peter at the top of the Marble Stair case.

"…do you think we should do it this time? I mean it's so close to the beginning to term… "whispered Peter.

"Of course we should", replied Sirius, "I really miss not being able to do it in the holidays."

"Yeah," whispered James, "The full moon's tonight and I'm sure that he'd appreciate the company…"

"What are you talking about?' asked Nat, walking up to where the boys were standing "What about the full moon being tonight? Who wants some company?"

All the boys glanced at each other but were silent.

"Come on, tell me," pleaded Nat.

They began to talk but they were talking over the top of each other and the girls found it impossible to understand anything.

"Whatever," sighed Nat, "I didn't get a word of that."

James and Sirius turned and raced down the stairs and into the Great Hall and were already halfway through their plates of bacon and eggs by the time Peter and the girls sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Looking up and down the Gryffindor Table, Lily remarked, "Hey Remus isn't here."

Looking up from his second plate of food, James replied, "Yeah, he was sick last night and we took him to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey said not to bother him for a couple of days but that he'll be fine."

The rest of the meal passed in silence and without incident with James and Sirius finishing five plates of bacon and eggs each.

After breakfast, they headed off to their first class, Transfiguration. The closer they got to the class room, the more Lily began to doubt she'd be able to concentrate at all during the lesson with James, Sirius and Peter sitting in the back of the classroom. They would likely have their heads together, planning their next prank. When the lesson started, however, she found she was pleasantly surprised. The boys spent an unusually quiet lesson with their heads buried in their books and didn't disrupt the class once. Lily began to get a little suspicious, but ignored the feeling.

The rest of the days passed by peacefully; The Gryffindor's had Herbology after Transfiguration where James and Sirius managed to get their Bouncing Bulbs stuck to the roof of the greenhouse. After lunch, they had double Potions. This was Lily's favourite lesson and Professor Slughorn often favoured her. She had been invited to join Slughorn's "Slug Club", but she had only attended three of the parties last year. Somehow, in this lesson, James and Sirius managed to spill their 'Helious' Solution over Severus Snape, a particularly fowl Slytherin in their year, which resulted in Snape sounding like a first year girl for the rest of the lesson. James and Sirius liked to torment Snape and he was often the subject of their many pranks. Snape seemed to hang around with the older Slytherins, rather than people his own age. But to everyone else he always seemed like an outsider, and didn't really fit in.

Sitting down in the common room after dinner that evening, Lily found herself alone. She began to wonder where everyone was when she remembered that the others were in the library doing their essays for Potions and Charms (Lily had already finished both essays.) and she thought that Remus was probably still in the hospital wing '_ill_ '. With nothing worth while to do, she decided to head off to bed. She was just getting into bed when Nat and Sarah came in.

"They really know who to ruin our lives," complained Nat.

"What!" exclaimed Lily, sitting up in bed, "Who's ruining your life?"

"I know what you mean," replied Sarah, talking to Nat. The turning to Lily, she replied, "It's just Nat complaining about homework, as usual," she explained. "It was actually really easy to do the essays without any of the Marauder's."

"So the Marauder's weren't with you in the library?' asked Lily, propping herself up on her elbows.

"No," replied Sarah, "they walked with us to the fourth floor, then they said they had something to do. We thought that they would have come back to the common room."

"No, I was here by myself," replied Lily,

All was quiet after that as Nat and Sarah got ready for bed and Lily's thoughts turned, again, to the Marauder's. There were so many un-answered questions about them and it was only the second day of term! What had James, Sirius and Peter been talking about this morning at the top of the Marble Stairs? Was Remus _really_ sick in the hospital wing? He had seemed a little pale on the train… Where had the Marauder's been this evening if they weren't in the library OR the common room?

"Goodnight,' called Sarah as she climbed into bed

"Goodnight," replied Lily.

She smiled when no reply can from Nat. Rolling on her stomach, she thought 'Who cares that the Marauder's are missing. That's their problem, not mine.' And she fell fast asleep.

ooooooo

The next day, the girls didn't see the boys until the start of the first lesson. The girls arrived early and were already settled in class when James, Sirius and Peter stumped into the room, all looking _extremely _tired.

"Where were you last night?" asked Lily, as the boys sat down at the tale next to them.

'Um, doin' homework,' replied Sirius

'Uh huh. And _where_, pray tell, did you do your homework?' enquired Nat in her sweetest voice.

'Um…' started Peter.

"Quiet everyone," called tiny Professor Flitwick from the front of the class, where he was perched on a towering pile of books.

Nat sat back in her seat looking irritated.

"Oh well," said Sarah, leaning across Lily to speak to Nat, "Maybe next time you'll be able to get the truth out of them."

Lily was only half listening. She had just noticed that James was staring at her again. She turned in her seat to see if there was someone behind her that James may be looking at, but all that was behind her was an old, rotting bookcase that James couldn't _possibly_ be looking at. Turning back to the front, she glanced back towards James. He seemed to have noticed her turn in her seat and was grinning at her. Sirius tugged on his sleeve and he turned. Seconds later, he was immersed in a whispered conversation, over a piece of dirty old parchment, with Sirius and Peter.

ooooooo

James and Sirius walked along the basement corridor, having just left the kitchens. They were both silent, each lost in their own thoughts which coincidentally both concerned Lily Evans. James sighed and stared into space. They had taken less than ten more steps when Sirius broke the silence.

"I have a dare for you", said Sirius, stopping

James stopped dead and turned to look at Sirius, a few paces behind him. They had given up on dares in third year when the two boys got two months worth of detentions. Having Sirius suddenly spring a dare on James was surprising and could only mean trouble.

"I understand if you don't want to", egged Sirius, beginning to walk again, "I mean…"

"Shut up. What's the dare", snapped James, continuing to walk, but getting edgier every minute.

Smiling to himself, Sirius waited before replying, "I dare you to ask a _particular_ girl out."

James breathed a sigh of relief. "Easy", he replied. He and Sirius both knew that almost _every_ girl in Hogwarts would give anything to go out with one of them.

"Good. But I get to choose the girl," smirked Sirius,

James hesitated. "Who is it?"

"Lily Evans" replied Sirius innocently

"What!" yelled James!

All Sirius could do was smirk.

"You know that's impossible," began James, "Lily and I only _just_ stopped fighting. And you know that both Nat and Sarah would kill any of us if we ruined that."

"I know," egged Sirius, "or…is there something ALREADY going on between you and Lily?"

"Why would that bother you?" James replied innocently.

"WHAT!" replied Sirius, stopping dead.

"Oh, yeah," said James, "It's been going on for quite some time now. I think it was…sometime around…the first year we started…"

"Oh shut up," snapped Sirius, "It did sound convincing though until you said it started in first year."

"Yeah, ok. Whatever," replied James, feeling a little calmer, "When do I have to ask Lily out?"

"Oh, whenever you want," replied Sirius lazily, walking up the steps to Hogwarts.

"Good," said James. As they climbed into the common room

ooooooo

Meanwhile…

…In the Gryffindor common room…

Nat had come traipsing in looking extremely tired.

"I think that you need to head off to bed," said Lily, noticing how Nat slumped in the chair. "Where have you been?"

"I tried to follow James and Sirius to find out what they were doing," she replied

"And…" prompted Sarah, leaning forward slightly

"Nothing. I lost them when they were in the grounds somewhere," she replied, yawning

"In the grounds," repeated Lily, looking shocked. "They shouldn't have been out there at night."

"Yeah, but Nat, you do need to head of to bed," said Sarah, concern evident in her voice and face. "We'll talk in I the morning."

"Yeah, ok," said Nat, wearily, "I'll see you both in the morning." And she headed off up the stairs.

"Hey Lil," said Sarah, glancing at Nat to make sure she was out of ear shot, "I think that Sirius likes Nat."

"What!" replied Lily. "Why on earth would you think that, "she inquired

"After Potions, I was walking behind them and I heard Sirius mention Nat's name. So I decided to get closer and I heard him saying that she was really hot."

"What! When was this!" asked Lily, unhappy that she hadn't heard this herself, but surprised as well.

"You were still in class, remember? Slughorn asked you to another of his parties after class and you said not to wait."

"Oh, yeah," replied Lily, remembering now

"Anyway," Sarah went to continue, but at that moment, Sirius and James came through the portrait whole. "Hey Lily, do you think that we should say anything to Sirius?"

"Yeah, ok, let's see how he reacts," replied Lily.

"Hey girls," said Sirius, coming to sit in the newly vacated seat Nat had just left while James sat down in another. For some reason, unknown to Lily, Sirius couldn't stop smirking in James direction.

"Hey," replied Sarah, glancing at Lily, "We have some questions for you." She was not surprised to see James and Sirius exchange glances.

"What question," enquired Sirius, looking slightly concerned.

"Well," began Sarah, "On the way out of class today, I overheard you talking to James, Remus and Peter about Nat and how much you liked her."

For some reason Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I think Nat might like Sirius as well," whispered James, leaning forward, "I was talking to her at Diagon Alley on the holidays and she kept said that he was hot and that she wished that she had someone that liked her."

"Oh well, I think I might head up to bed," said Lily abruptly, standing up, "I've done enough talking for one night." She began to turn, when she remembered something. "Sirius, are you going to tell Nat that you like her?"

He shrugged his shoulders

"Yes, I think that you should," replied Sarah, jumping in before Lily could reply.

"Especially if what James' said, if it's true," she added with a suspicious glance at James, "I think that she likes you back. Goodnight." And she and Sarah swept up the stairs.

"Ahh, yes, I can just see you two have been together since grade _one_," Sirius said once they heard the dormitory door close.

"Oh, shut up," snapped James, unhappy that Sirius had brought up the dare again. "There's more important things to talk about a.k.a. you and Nat," grinned James. "So are you going to tell her?"

"I think so," replied Sirius, casually, "And before you think that if I ask Nat out I'll be too preoccupied to think about out dare, think again. It doesn't save you from asking Miss Lily out."

"I'm going to bed too, if you're going to talk about the dare all night." He stood and was halfway to the stairs when he heard Sirius whisper, "Yes, you need to get some beauty sleep so you look your best for _darling_ Lily." Turning, James was at Sirius' side in two strides and pretty soon the two friends were wrestling each other on the floor.

**PadfootsLuva: **thank you for your review. I know that my first chapter was short and I'll try to make it up in future chapters. Don't worry, this story will definitely **NOT** have an overused story line and Sirius is going to play a pretty big role in future chapters – the Nat/Sirius think is just the start

**jjchicken**thanks for the review. I hope that you like my story and I changed this chapter (pretty drastically) from the one that you beta'd. If you have any ideas for my story, let me know

**softlove91**hey thanx for your review too! You were my first reviewer eva. If you have any ideas for my story, let me know

**_If any of you know anyone that may like this story, could you ask them to read and review._**


	3. The InterSchool Quidditch Tournament

**Hi everyone! I know that this may be a little confusing, but I've changed Lily's friend's names. Jacky is now Natalie and Victoria is now Sarah. Sorry if this confuses any of you but I felt that I needed to change the characters because of the events that occur later in the story. Also, I've updated chapters 1 and 2. There is no major difference, just the names and a few changes in the order of some paragraphs.**

Chapter 3 – The Inter-School Quidditch Tournament

"Hurry up please!" called Professor Dumbledore from the front of the Great Hall, "I have an important announcement to make."

Abruptly, everyone fell silent.

"Thank you. Now as you know, last night I mentioned that I had a special announcement that would have to wait until morning," began Professor Dumbledore, smiling, "It is my pleasure to announce that this year, Hogwarts will host The Inter-School Quidditch Cup." He paused as chatter erupted. Students that had grown up in wizarding families, including James, Sirius, Nat and Sarah began to talk excitedly while those who hadn't grown up in wizarding families looked at their friends with bewildered looks. Lily was one of the later.

"Forgive me," began Professor Dumbledore, silencing the chatter immediately, "But I feel that I must explain to those of us who do not know what the Inter-School Quidditch Cup is. The Inter-School Quidditch Cup was started in 1798 by the four major wizarding schools in Europe. These four schools decided that every two years, they would get together and have an inter school Quidditch competition, and thus the competition began. Unfortunately, the event has not taken place for many years, as Braveheart and Durmstrang did not have the numbers necessary to compete. The three schools, Beauxbaton, Durmstrang and Braveheart, will arrive on Halloween." Dumbledore paused, as his eyes swept the hall.

"One Quidditch team of seven players each will be selected from each school and the teams will compete in three matches spaced through out the year. The seven Hogwarts students will be exempt from end of year exams. As a result of the Inter School Quidditch Cup, our Quidditch matches at Hogwarts will be canceled for this year as we feel that the House teams would suffer if they had players missing. However, the Quidditch Cup at Hogwarts will take place next year as planned. As another safety measure, there will be an age restriction of 15 and over. This is for your own safety and we, the head of the four schools, feel that it is necessary. If you wish to sign up, please place your name with you Head who will then pass the lists on to a panel of teachers. The teams will be named on Halloween. That is all for now. I will leave you to finish your breakfast." The talk in the Hall began to escalate once Dumbledore had sat down as everyone turned to their neighbor and began to talk about the new development.

"Are you going to sign up," Remus asked James, Sirius and Nat

"Definitely," replied James

"Hell, yeah," replied Sirius, starting on his second plate of toast.

"Yeah I think so," said Nat, a little nervously.

"What's up, Nat," asked Sarah, looking worried, "Surely you want to be on the team?"

"I do," replied Nat, "But I'm a little worried that they won't pick me 'cause I'm a girl."

"Natalie," began Lily, "You're the only girl at Hogwarts at the moment that is ON a Quidditch team. And you're better than half the boys on the team anyway."

"Hey!" cried James and Sirius, looking up from their breakfast, looking offended.

Lily glared at James and Sirius' before continuing, "Nat, you know it's true. You should try out. I think that even if you don't get in, you'd be happy that you gave it ago."

"Ok, I'll talk to McGonagall after the lesson after lunch today,' decided Nat, looking slightly happier.

"Good," said Lily, "I'm going to head to class early. See you there." And she stood up and swept out of the Great Hall.

As Lily left the Great Hall, Sirius glanced in James direction. James seemed to get the hint, as he also rose from the table. The others were too deep in conversation to notice him leave.

"Hey Lily! Wait up!" James called down the corridor.

Lily stopped. 'What now' she thought to herself. Turning around, she saw James running up the corridor. She half wanted to turn around and keep on walking, but she didn't.

"Thanks," puffed James, when he finally caught up with her, "I wanted to ask you something."

Lily was began to feel uneasy. 'What on earth could James have to say to her?'

"Will you go out with me?" asked James

"WHAT!" yelled Lily, who had been lost in her own thoughts.

"Shhhh," whispered James, and he took hold of her arm and pulled her into the nearest classroom. Shutting the door he turned to face Lily. He wasn't surprised to she her with her arms crossed, glaring at him.

"What," she repeated, still glaring at him.

"Will you go out with me," James repeated.

Lily glared at James for a minute longer before answering, "Ummm," she said, with a convincing look of concentration on her face. "No." And she turned and walked out of the classroom.

James stood shock still for a moment. This wasn't the first time Lily had rejected him. She had done it numerous times the year before, but, he had actually began to hope that she may have changed her mind. He turned and ran after Lily, catching her only a few paces from the door.

"What now James!" yelled Lily, now really fed up.

"Why won't you go out with me," asked James.

"Do you want the short list or the long," she asked, folding her arms across her chest and leaning against the wall. She could see this would take a while. At least she had headed off to class early.

"Ummm, replied James.

"Well apart from the fact that you continuously asked me out ALL of last year and I continuously said NO but you didn't get the picture," started Lily before James had replied, "You're really up you self," She was not surprised to see James' mouth open in shock. "You think that you can have any girl in the school; that they'll all throw themselves at you. You're arrogant and most of all, you're a PRAT."

James was shocked. He wasn't arrogant… He wasn't up himself… Ok, yes, he thought that he could have any girl in the school, but that was because they WERE falling over each other to get to him.

"Are we finished now," asked Lily, looking at her watch, "Only the bells about to ring and I would like to get to class."

James was still too shocked to speak but nodded.

"Good," replied Lily, and she walked off in the direction of the Charms Classroom.

ooooooo

She just could not understand them. Oh well, they're boys, thought Lily, I'm not _supposed_ to be able to understand them. Smiling slightly, she sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall next to Nat. They had just finished the afternoon class of Transfiguration but James wasn't anywhere to be seen. He hadn't been in any classes today and wasn't at dinner. Well, I did just reject him, she thought. But I rejected him all last year; it should have sunk in by now that I DON'T want to go out with him. She looked across the table and was surprised to see Remus sitting with Peter. She turned to ask Nat why Remus was out of the Hospital Wing, but she was already deep in conversation with Sarah.

"I didn't know Remus was out of the Hospital Wing," said Sirius, sitting down on Lily's other side.

"Yeah I know," she replied, "He _does_ look a little sick still though doesn't he?" She noticed that he was very pale, almost grey and he had deep circles under his eyes.

Turning back to Lily, Sirius replied, "Yeah, he does seem look ill," Turning to look up and down the table again, he asked, "Where's James, by the way? I think he wanted to talk to you after class."

"I have no idea," she lied, "I have seen him since this morning."

"Oh well," sighed Sirius.

Lily expected him to say more, but he didn't. He was gazing absent-mindedly down the table. Following his gaze, she found that he was staring directly at Nat. And that she was staring back.

Smiling, Lily asked, "So have you asked her out yet?"

"No," he replied, still gazing down the table at Nat, even though she had turned back to Sarah.

"There's a Hogsmeade visit this weekend, why don't you ask her to go with you then?" suggested Lily.

"Yeah, I think that I will." And with that he dived into his plate of food.

Meanwhile…

…In the Gryffindor tower…

James lay on his four-poster bed, his head in his hands, deep in thought. Why did Lily continuously reject him? He wasn't that bad a guy… And he was really beginning to like her. That's one of the reasons her agreed to the dare in the first place. He had liked her ever since the beginning of fifth year. Now I've ruined what chance I had with Lily, he thought. He was disturbed by the unmistakable sound of people entering the Gryffindor common room. Oh well, he thought, it's probably better if I just stay here. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about Lily. He really liked her but she didn't seem to like him. I'll have to change that, he thought to himself, and with that, he fell into an uneasy sleep full of… Lily.

ooooooo

As the end of October drew nearer, so to the arrival of the three other schools on Halloween. Rumors were circulating about who had put there name down and who the 'mysterious' teacher from Hogwarts was. Of course these were all rumors.

Lily and Remus, along with the other fifth and sixth year prefects, were so busy helping with the decorating of the Great Hall for the Halloween Welcoming Feast, that they forgot that Sirius' birthday was on the 30th of October.

Lily knew that the Marauder's always celebrated each others birthday's in style. So she wasn't surprised to find that the whole of Gryffindor was invited to Sirius birthday this year. After dinner, everyone made there way back to the Gryffindor common room as the party was to start at seven o'clock. As Lily climbed in through the portrait hole, she found the whole common room alive with excitement and unrecognizable. Balloons, streamers and sparkles were everywhere, tables and chairs were draped red and gold cloths and the tables were groaning under the amount of food the boys had been able to conjure up. They was also an almost in-numerable supply of Butterbeer, sitting on one of the tables near a window. There was barely any room to move but still couples were dancing on the dance floor in the middle of the common room.

Standing next to a gold draped chair by the window, near the table of Butterbeers, Lily was enjoying watching Nat and Sirius dance. Finally, she thought to herself, they've gotten together. Sarah had gone off to talk to Remus and they were standing in a corner talking together. As she sipped her third Butterbeer, she began to wonder if any her friends would date a 'Marauder'. She decided that, yes Nat and Sirius would probably end up together, and Sarah may end up going out with Remus, but she had no inclination to date Peter and most certainly no James. By then she was beginning to get bored and thought that she might head up to bed, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to find James standing behind her.

"Lily, would you like to dance?" asked James

Lily was shocked. "James…" she began.

"Just as friends," James added hastily, worried that Lily might say no.

He offered her his hand. Why not, she thought to herself, I have no one else to talk to and he _did_ say just as friends and it's not as if I'm drunk of anything. She placed her hand on his and he led her onto the dance floor. There was a slow song playing on the wireless that Lily suspected was one of The Weird Sister 'slow songs'. Seconds after, Lily found herself with her arms around James neck, swaying to the music. So far, she had not looked into his face, afraid that she would see the same 'look' in his eyes that she had seem in class and on the train. They danced in each other's arms until the song ended. Lily pulled away and began to move off the dance floor, when she felt James gently take hold of her arm.

"One more," was all he said.

This time, Lily accepted without hesitation. The song was another longer, slow one and Lily found herself enjoying the feeling of James' arms around her. They made her feel warm and safe, like nothing could hurt her. Abruptly she pulled away. No, I won't think about James like that, she thought to herself as James, who at first was slightly shocked by her pulling away, led her through the crowd to the edge of the dance floor. This is James Potter! The boys who spent the first four years of Hogwarts pulling stupid little pranks on you and the last year asking you out!

"Lily," said James, bringing Lily back to reality.

"Thanks James, it was really…' she began, but was lost for words.

James grinned. He saw straight through Lily. "That's ok," he said, and with a slight wave, he walked away. Lily felt half glad, half disappointed that he had gone. No, she told herself firmly. I'm not at all disappointed that he's gone. She shook herself slightly and decided to go find one of her friends. She looked around and saw Nat still dancing with Sirius, so she decided not to bother her. She finally found Sarah, not with Remus but with Fabian Prewett. They were sitting in two chairs by the fire, talking and laughing. She decided that she'd better no disturb Sarah either, so she headed of in the direction of the girls stair. She was just getting into bed, when Sarah came in.

"How was your night?" asked Sarah

"Oh, it was ok," replied Lily, "What about you? You and Fabian," she finished casually.

By then Sarah was changed and about to get into her bed, but instead she came and sat down on Lily's.

"Lily," began Sarah, "Fabian and I have known each other since we were five. My brother and Fabian's brother are best friends."

"You seemed to be having a good time with Fabian," replied Lily, thinking about Sarah and this mysterious person from her youth, "He's really nice. Would you ever go out with him" asked Lily.

"I don't know Lily. I really don't know" exclaimed Sarah, getting up from Lily's bed and getting into her own. "I know him too well but… Goodnight Lily," said Sarah, her voice slightly muffled as she pulled the sheets over herself.

"Goodnight Sarah," replied Lily, "I hope that Nat doesn't stay up too late. But, the way she and Sirius were dancing; they could be there all night. At least it's Saturday tomorrow."

"Yeah," replied Sarah, sounding sleepy. Abruptly, Sarah sat up in her bed. She turned to face Lily. "Speaking of 'couples'," began Sarah, "I saw you and James dancing two dances together."

Lily was glad that it was dark, so that Sarah didn't see her smile. "It was only two dances and I said yes only on friendly term," replied Lily.

"Yeah, ok," said Sarah, lying back down on her bed, not sounding at all convinced.

Lily smiled and rolled on her side so that she was facing away from Sarah. Sarah had brought up a point that Lily didn't want to think about. What if other people thought that she and James were going out now? She'd have to talk to him in the morning and tell him not to get any ideas. Boys, she thought rolling onto her back, they really mess up things. James and Nat were two examples. A year ago, Nat would have been the first of the three girls up here, now she was the last. And a few years ago, James hadn't even been her friend, then last year, he had continuously asked her out and this year, there was something different about him and the way he acted towards her! She sighed. I'll deal with that in the morning, she thought and fell straight to sleep. She didn't even wake up when Nat entered the dormitory three hours later and fell asleep, fully clothed.

ooooooo

It was finally Halloween; the day the three other schools were due to arrive. Everyone finished class at lunch time and then assembled on the front steps to greet the other schools. Everyone was silent. The only sound was the rustling of the trees in the forbidden forest. Seconds passed, then minutes. Finally, Anna, Sarah's younger sister, shouted, "Look! The Gates!"

Sure enough, the gates to Hogwarts were slowly opening. Through the open gates came five beautiful carriages, each pulled by two black horses. As the carriages drew to a halt outside Hogwarts, the students saw a symbol of a heart crossed by a sword and a wand, embossed onto the carriage doors and the horses' bridles.

Seconds later, the first carriage door opened and out stepped a strongly built man, with short dark brown and broad shoulders, dressed in, what appeared at first glance to be armor, but was actually just a shiny material. At a clap if his hands, the other carriage doors opened and out stepped around 18 students, all boys. They assembled behind their head who then proceeded to walk towards Dumbledore. Upon reaching him, he exclaimed, "Ahhh, Dumbledore! How long has it been?"

"Far to long, my dear, Hulio," replied Dumbledore, as they clasped hands. "Would you like to wait for Robertson and Madame Devont or head inside?"

Edwardo Hulio glanced back at his students. They were staring up at Hogwarts in awe. "I think my students will be able to stand the wait," he replied with a slight smile on his face.

"Excellent," replied Dumbledore, as he turned towards the Forbidden Forest. "And unless, I'm much mistaken, the delegates from Beauxbaton approach."

The announcement had an immediate effect. Everyone began whispering amongst themselves and searching the grounds of Hogwarts for any sign of the approaching school.

"There!" cried a third year, pointing towards the Forbidden Forest. "The Sky!"

They turned as one body, towards the Forbidden Forest, where they saw a giant 'thing' hurtling through the sky towards them.

As it came closer, they realized that it was a giant, powder blue carriage pulled by golden horses, the size of small elephants. The students glimpsed a coat of arms, two wands crossed both emitting sparks, before the door was thrown open and out stepped a beautiful woman. She had long brown hair and was dressed in blue silk from head to toe.

"My dear Madam Devont, what a pleasure it is to have you at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore, with a slight bow.

"It is so good to be here," replied Madam Devont.

"Robertson has not yet arrived. Would you prefer to wait for him or step inside?" asked Dumbledore, addressing the question to both Madam Devont and Hulio.

"I think that we will step inside," replied Madam Devont, gesturing behind her. It was only then that the students realized that there were around 20 students standing behind Madame Devont; five girls and 15 boys. They were looking up at Hogwarts with apprehension and all appeared to be shivering, due to there uniforms made of silk like their headmistress.

Dumbledore nodded his head and Madame Devont gestured again to her students, and they followed her up the stone steps of Hogwarts, into the Entrance Hall. Dumbledore then inclined his head towards Hulio.

"We will remain Dumbledore," said Hulio, answering Dumbledore's un-asked question.

Dumbledore again inclined his head, before turning to stare out across the grounds of Hogwarts.

"Look at the lake," called someone from the front of the students. Sure enough, the usually calm surface of the lake was suddenly rippling with life. Second later, a dark pole rose out of the water, followed by a dark shape.

"It's a boat," called a third year.

The boat was now gliding slowly towards the shore of the lake. A great splash echoed across the grounds, as an anchor was dropped into the water, followed by the creak of a plank being lowered. Silent figures walked single file off the ship and made their way up the sloping grounds of Hogwarts. As the figures stepped into the light flooding from the Entrance Hall, the assembled students noticed that the figures bulkiness was due to the large fur coats that they wore over their uniforms.

"Gregorio!" said Dumbledore, as the students and their head moved towards him.

"Dumbledore! So good to be back at dear old Hogwarts," replied Gregorio Robertson.

"Now," called Dumbledore to Hogwarts students, "as all the schools are present, it you would like to forward in after our guests," he nodded towards Hulio nodded to his students, and they moved towards the Entrance Hall, closely followed by Robertson and his students. After them, came the assembly of Hogwarts students and teachers

Once all the students and teachers were seated in the Great Hall; Durmstrang at the Slytherin table, Beauxbatons at the Ravenclaw table and Braveheart at the Gryffindor table, Dumbledore rose to his feet, arms out-stretched.

"Welcome, my dear friends, to Hogwarts," said Dumbledore, looking at each of the three visiting schools in turn. "I know that you have all had a long journey, so speeches will have to wait until after dinner."

Dumbledore sat down and was soon engaged in conversation by Robertson. The Great Hall was extravagantly decorated. There were the usual lives bats, fluttering over the four house tables, but there were also huge carved pumpkins, large enough to fit five people comfortably, sitting at intervals around the Great Hall. The walls and tabled were covered in ever changing coloured cloths that reflected the eerie light let off by the pumpkins. The golden goblets and plates filled with delicious food prepared by the house elves in the kitchens. There were more dished than normal, many of them looked from foreign places. The chatter in the Hall, however, was no more than usual.

The students from Durmstrang and Braveheart were gazing around the Hall in awe and amazement. The students from Durmstrang had finally removed their thick coats to reveal blood red robes. The students from Beauxbaton were also gazing around, taking in every inch of the Great Hall, from the carved pumpkins to the live bats. Their looks, however, were not of awe or amazement, but of indifference. To them the castle was unremarkable and almost not worthy of their attention. They too had taken off their cloaks and revealed robes of fine, light blue silk.

James and Sirius were talking about the Inter School Quidditch Tournament and how different the matches would be to 'normal' Hogwarts Quidditch. Sirius was only paying half attention as he was watching Nat out of the corner of his eye. Every time she moved her head, her blonde hair caught the light. Quite a few boys from Braveheart were also watching Nat, Sirius was well aware of this, but Nat had no clue. She was too engaged in a conversation with Sarah and Lily about Sirius' birthday last night. Peter was sitting across from Sirius and James, talking to Remus about their Transfiguration assignment. Peter was no great shakes at Transfiguration, so he often asked Remus or Lily for help in the assignments. They were always willing to help him, but both refused, point blank to let him, or anyone else, copy their work.

"So did you and James really dance two dances together," asked Nat. Sarah had just told Nat what had happened last night, for Nat had been too engrossed by Sirius to notice anything around her.

"Yes, we did," replied Lily, shaking back her auburn hair, "but only as friends. I told him that.'

"Yeah, whatever," replied Nat, in the same tone of voice Sarah had used the night before, "But you know that James probably forgot about 'dancing just as friends' as soon as you _agreed_ to dance with him."

"Yes, I've already thought about that and I've decided that I'm going to talk to James after dinner to make sure that he knows that it was a one-off thing and only as friends," she replied, crossing her arms across her chest, like she always did when she felt insecure.

"You do that," replied Nat, picking up her fork again and beginning to eat, "I just hope that you know what you're doing. You know how James reacts sometimes…"

"Nat, give her a break, I'm sure she knows what she's doing," scowled Sarah. She then looked up the table to where the Marauder's sat. She had noticed Sirius, and many of the Braveheart boys was staring at Nat and thought that, if she brought it up, it would probably direct Natalie's attention away from for at least a short period of time.

"You know that Sirius has been watching you for the entire meal," she said, trying to hide a smile, "and I think I know why too."

"And why would that be," asked Nat, looking up the table to Sirius.

"Nat," said Lily, glancing around at the great number of people watching Nat. Catching on to what Sarah was trying to do, she continued, "You have half the Braveheart boys looking at you like you're some sort of goddess and I think that Sirius may feel just a _little_ protective of you."

Nat made a disbelieving noise.

"It's true you know," added Sarah, "He really likes you and I think that you like him to."

"I do," agreed Nat, glancing up at Sirius, who was still looking at her out of the corner of his eye, "it was amazing when we were dancing. It felt … so warm and safe, like he would always protect me."

Lily shuddered. Nat had said exactly how she had felt when she and James were dancing.

"What's up Lil," asked Sarah, who had seem Lily shudder and looked concerned. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied Lily truthfully, glancing in James' direction. Sarah saw the direction of her glance and looked up the table as well. When she saw that lily was looking at James, she smiled.

"Lily," whispered Sarah, so Nat wouldn't hear, "It's ok if you like James. I mean, I'm sure he'd be over the moon about it…"

"I do not like James," whispered Lily, frowning at Sarah, "Why would I like someone who spent the first four years of school pranking me and the last year asking me out!"

Sarah just shook her head and continued her dinner.

Lily glanced up at James again. He and Sirius were now deep in conversation with Remus and Peter, leaning over something that James had on his lap.

I do not like James, she told herself firmly. How could I ever like someone that stupid. What I felt when I was dancing with him was just… But she couldn't explain the feeling away. She could not say that the feeling had never existed because she knew it had, or that she had been drunk because she knew that she had been somber the whole night. Why did James have to like her! Why couldn't he like one of the many girls that liked him back!

"Lily!" came Sarah's voice, "Dumbledore's making his speech."

Lily tuned back into reality just in time to hear the beginning of Dumbledore's speech.

"Now that we are all well fed, there are a few loose ends that I would like to tie up. The students from Bravehearts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons have already submitted their names to their heads. For Hogwarts students, tonight is the last opportunity to submit you name to your head of house. The four teams will be drawn tomorrow night after the Halloween Feast. As I have said previously, there will be no Hogwarts Quidditch Cup Tournament this year as a result of the Inter-School Quidditch Tournament. Also, there will be a Hogsmeade visit tomorrow for students third year and above. Off to bed with you all."

There was a loud grating of chairs as everyone stood and began to leave the Great Hall. The Hogwarts students climbed the Marble Staircase to their respective common rooms while the other schools walked out of the Great Hall, down the front steps and out into the grounds. The Durmstrang students walked back to their ship and Beauxbatons and Braveheart to their respective carriages.

Lily was climbing the Marble Staircase when she remembered that she had not yet talked to James about their dance last night. She looked ahead, down the crowded corridor and was relieved to see James and Sirius only five meters ahead.

She quickened her pace and quickly caught up to them.

"James," she called. James turned, looking surprised. "Could I have a word," asked Lily.

James exchanged a glance of surprise with Sirius before following Lily into the library, the closest room. She shut the door quietly behind them and muttered 'Lumos' so that they could see. Turning, she found James leaning against a wall, arms folded across his chest, looking extremely hot. No, don't think about that, she told herself. You've come here to tell James not to get any ideas, not to think about how hot he is.

She shook herself lightly. "James, I wanted to talk to you about last night." She took a breath before continuing. "I agreed to dance with you, on the condition that it was only friendly. I don't want you to get any ideas or thinking that I like you or anything along those lines and I want you to know that I still won't go out with you." She took a deep breath. She hadn't meant to get that carried away but it had all come spilling out.

James only raised his eyebrows, a look of skepticism on his face.

"James I mean it." When James did not reply, she added "And don't look at me like that," For James' face had changed dramatically. He no longer looked skeptical, he was looking at her differently; there was something about his eyes that enthralled Lily. He was moving closer towards her. She knew that she should move away before James got the wrong idea _again_ but her legs were not co operating with her brain.

James was now less than 30 centimeters from her. She tore her eyes away from his and looked at her shoes instead. Seconds later, she felt a hand gently tip her chip upwards. She looked up. James' face was inches away from hers; his lips moving closer and closer. His lips first touched hers and she felt a tingle go from her head to her toes. The kiss was gentle at first but steadily grew in passion. She felt James push her backwards against the wall. Her arms went up around his neck and before she knew what she was doing, she was kissing him back. It was unlike anything Lily had ever experienced before. She had kissed many guys before, but there was something different, something special about this particular kiss. Her brain was telling her to get out of there, but part of her wanted to stay. It was the later part that had controlled her mind until now. She pushed away from James. James looked shocked at her abrupt change of mind. His hair was a mess; messier than usually and both their uniforms were skewed and twisted. Lily abruptly turned and rushed out of the library, leaving a thoroughly dazed looking James.

**Hey everyone! Sorry about not updating recently. I've just finished my final maths exam, so I haven't had much time to write. I promise that I'll update quicker for the next chapter. I'm almost on holidays too, so there will be heaps of chappies over Christmas.**

**Meagy**: thank you for your review. I changed the descriptions in chapter 1 and spread them out a bit. I also took out the names of Amos' Hufflepuff friends and just called them 'Friend 1' and 'Friend 2' as I don't think they don't play any further role in the story and if they do, they'll get a name. plz keep reviewing!

**jjchicken: **hey chicky. Thank you sssssssssssssooooooooo much for adding me to you fav authors. I feel so honored! I hope that you like the chapter. I'm definitely keeping on writing. I also think that I'll write another story over the holidays – a Hermione/draco fic or a ginny fic. Not sure yet. Keep reading!

**majik man: **thanx for the review. Lily and Amos will get described a bit more in the coming chapters. I hope that you like the story. Keep reading!

**magenta-orange: **in the coming chapters, I'll try to make more action. There should be heaps of action surrounding the Inter-School Quidditch Tournament and Braveheart. And there will be more action between characters i.e. relationships. Let me know what you think. Thanx for the review and plz keep reading.

**softlove91: **hey tina. I love your reviews. I'll try to give Sarah (who was Vickie) a stronger story line. She has a relatively big part in the next chapter, I think. Plz keep reviewing

**PadfootsLuva: **I hope you like the lily/james bits in that chapter. I wasn't planning on making them kiss… it just sort of happened. Natalie (previously Jacky) and Sirius will heat up in the next couple of chapters. Keep reading and reviewing – I luv your reviews!


	4. Encounters

Chapter 4 – Surprising Events

"It will be very useful having so many faithful servants at dear old Hogwarts," he hissed looking at each of the new death eaters in turn. There was Narcissa Black, Rabastan Lestrange and Severus Snape.

They were all only 16, the youngest of all the death eaters. But he had been _assured_ by Rudolphus Lestrange, Lucious Malfoy and Bellatrix Black that they could be trusted.

There had been three others Hogwarts students, Scott Zabini, Timothy Parkinson and Regulas Black, who were only 15. He had told them they had to wait until at least 16.

"Master," said Rabastan, "We are overjoyed to be serving you."

Voldemort glanced at Rabastan, before addressing his older brother.

"Lestrange, I have your assurance that _Dumbledore_ will not notice anything suspicious about have three death eaters at Hogwarts."

"No, Master, Dumbledore is to engrossed in organizing the Inter-School Quidditch Tournament to notice what's going on under his nose," replied Rudolphus, his face down cast in respect to his master, who was hardly less older than himself.

"Still, I wouldn't put it past Dumbledore. He is a… _clever_ man," replied Voldemort, more to himself that any of the death eaters. He turned to face his three new death eaters. "You will not draw attention to yourselves. You are to _nothing_ out if the ordinary. I will summon you in weeks to come if you are to execute _any_ of my plans. I will be _extremely _unhappy if any of my orders ar disobeyed. Now, leave." He turned away from his death eaters when he remembered something.

"Lestrange," he called at Bellatrix's retreating back, "Where is your dear cousin Sirius? I was looking forward to having him as a death eater."

Bellatrix turned; head bowed "He is not in Slytherin, master. We have not talked in a very long time and it would have seemed suspicious had we suddenly come up to him and taken him away. Besides, I do not think that he _wants_ to become a death eater anymore."

"Very well. I will work on a way to bring him here myself," replied Voldemort, incensed. He turned away from Bellatrix and remained so until he heard her disparate.

You had better hope that what your cousin told me is a lie, Sirius Black. If it is true… well, we'll just have to wait and see what sort of mood I'm in.

And he too disaperated.

ooooooo

"YOU WHAT!" screamed Sirius, jumping up from the floor where he had been sitting, reading one of his magazines. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT JUST HAPPENED! YOU JUST KISSED LILY EVANS AND ALL THAT YOU CAN SAY IS THAT 'IT JUST HAPPENED!"

"Shut up Sirius," said Remus Lupin from his bed, "if you want the whole school to know about James' little kiss, then keep up the yelling. But I'm sure that would appreciate it if it was only us who knew." Typical Remus. Always calm, even in the strangest situations. However, Remus' comment quieted Sirius down so that he was at least no yelling.

"When did this happen," asked Sirius, trying to refrain from yelling.

"Just now, in the library," replied James, "when she asked me if she could have a word ."

"And…" prompted Sirius. Neither Peter nor Remus seemed alarmed by this new development in the Lily/James relationship.

"She told me not to get any ideas from the dance on your birthday and that she still wouldn't go out with me," replied James. Great, thought James, I hadn't told about the dance either.

Sirius exploded again. "WHAT! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT YOU _DANCED_ WITH HER AS WELL!"

"Sirius," warned Remus, this time not even looking up from his book

"Why didn't you tell me that you danced with her?" asked Sirius in a would be calm voice.

"Because you were too involved dancing with Miss Natalie Mercury to notice anything other than that she's incredibly hot!" replied James, sounding fed up.

"Alright, what ever," began Sirius, but Remus, finally taking an interest in the conversation, cut in

"The point is, James, that she doesn't like you. I thought she made that pretty clear last year," said Remus, a slight frown creasing his forehead. "And so far this year," he added.

"Yeah I know," replied James. James heartily agreed with Remus on this point. Yes she had made that _extremely_ clear.

"So why did you kiss her," asked Remus, sounding exasperated at the fact that he had not penetrated James thick head.

"I told you, it just happened!" replied James, sure that they had had this part of the conversation before. "I don't know what made me do it, she was just standing there, with her arms crossed and…." He couldn't put it into words. Feeling exasperated himself he added, "She kissed me back you know."

"WHAT!" shouted Sirius again, but he stopped when James and Remus' glared at him.

"She reacted when I kissed her," James repeated slowly, as if he were talking to a four year old, "She kissed me back."

"So she likes you know," said Peter, looking up from his Potions homework, and jumping to the very conclusion that James would have loved to find was actually reality.

"I don't know," replied James. He turned and stared out the window.

ooooooo

The next day, Sirius _still_ hadn't gotten over James and Lily's kiss. It was continuously their topic of conversation. James found this particularly annoying as he didn't want the whole school finding out.

Lily had so far avoided talking to him. She was unusually quiet during breakfast, even with her friends, and James suspected that _she_ had not told them about last nights events.

They had just left the Great Hall and were returning to the common room to get their cloaks for the journey to Hogsmeade, with Sirius muttering away, rather loudly, about the events of the previous night, when

"Well, well, well," came a silky voice from behind them, making all of The Marauder's jump. They whipped out their wands and turned around to find Severus Snape leaning against the wall, looking thoroughly relaxed.

"What's happened in Potter's life that Black should be so interested." He wore a smirk that made James' particularly worried. Snape had heard every word of their conversation, all the way from the Great Hall.

Sirius also seemed to think so. "If you tell anyone else anything about what you just heard, you'll wish you'd never been born, Snivellius."

"Watch it Black," countered Snape, his smirk disappearing slightly, standing up from the wall. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."

"Of course we do," replied James, "You're a sniveling little twerp that's always got his nose buried in some book about the Dark Arts."

"Petrificus Totalus!" shouted Snape, but The Marauder's were too quick.

"Stupefy!" roared Sirius

"Impedimenta!" James yelled

"Expelliarmus!" yelled Remus

Peter went to also shout a jinx, but lost his grip on his wand and it fell to the ground.

Next second, Snape was lying on his back, arms snapped to his side, legs unable to move, stupefied.

"Levicorpus!" yelled a female voice.

The spell shot past James, narrowly missing him and hitting the wall behind him.

Around the corner came Narcissa Black and Rabastan Lestrange, their wands raised.

"Your back up has finally arrived, has is Snivelly," taunted Sirius, as Snape struggled to raise himself into a sitting position.

"Where as you aren't brave enough to take on one individual without your three friends standing behind you," retorted Snape, getting gingerly to his feet, the jinxes having worn off. Rabastan threw Snape his wand and he turned, along with Narcissa and Rabastan, and faced The Marauders.

But before one more spell had flown, there was a scream of rage from the opposite end of the corridor.

"What do you think you are doing!" screamed an enraged Lily. She raced down the corridor and was soon standing squarely between the two parties.

"It's against the rules to…" she began, but Sirius cut her off.

"Lily, I think that we know what the school rules are, you having yelled them at us more than a dozen times a year."

"That's only necessary because you don't seem to get them!" retorted Lily, her hands moved to cross across her chest and James found himself forcefully reminded of the previous night.

"And Remus," began Lily again, when Sirius had no reply to her previous comment, "_I_ would have thought that _you_ would have thought to stop James and Sirius from getting involved in these fights."

"Don't bring Remus into this," snapped James. But he regretted entering into the conversation seconds later when Lily rounded on him.

"Don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do, Potter," she whispered in a deadly voice. No one dared reply. Even the three Slytherins were silent. No on had _ever_ seen Lily in such a rage.

"I thought," she continued, still in a deadly whisper, "That _all_ of you would have matured by sixth, after the events of last year." She paused and glared at Snape, who also shrunk back slightly under her glare. Everyone present knew about the Marauder's confrontation with Snape the previous year, just after they had finished their OWLS.

Lily continued after a short pause "But obviously I am very much mistaken. I have never met a more idiotic group of boys in my life. One could wonder how you ended up in Gryffindor. I could go straight to McGonagall and report you to her…" she said with a convincing look of false consideration on her face, "but I think that it would only ruin my day and make me later for the Hogsmeade visit. But if I see or hear about you being in another fight, I _will_," she emphasized the will "go straight to McGonagall."

And she swirled around and walked in the opposite direction.

Both the Slytherins and the Gryffindor's remained dumb-founded, staring at lily's retreating back. The Slytherins were the first to lower their wand. They slipped silently around the corner, without the Gryffindor's notice.

ooooooo

"What the heck was that about," commented Remus, the first of the boys to speak, as they climbed out of the portrait hole, their cloaks tied tightly around their necks.

The four Gryffindor boys had eventually lowered their wands and turned to the Slytherins, only to find that they had disappeared. They had eventually, after severally minutes of stunned silence, continued on to the Gryffindor common room

"I have no idea," replied James. That was partially a lie. He thought that Lily had had a pretty good reason to yell at them.

There was a light rain falling as the boys made their way down to Hogsmeade. As they entered Hogsmeade, the light rain turned into a heavy downpour that was rapidly increased in severity. Thus the four Marauder's decided to go to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer. Unfortunately, most of their fellow students had also decided the same thing.

The Marauder's spotted Lily and Nat sitting in a corner booth. Nat waved her hand in welcome as the boys made their way over to their booth. Sarah was no where in sight.

"Hi," said Nat, smiling broadly, as the boys sat down opposite her and Lily. Lily was not happy that the Marauder's were sharing their booth and made it plainly obvious that she intended to speak to none of them.

"Have you seen Sarah at all this morning," enquired Nat, concern was etched in her features, but that was soon replaced by a small smile, for after glancing in Sirius' direction she had discovered that he was, again, looking at her.

"Not sure," replied James, looking slightly concerned himself, for he and Sarah had grown up together, "but I think that I saw her heading out of the castle with one of the Prewetts."

"What," said Nat, looking extremely surprised, "Sarah didn't say anything about going to Hogsmeade with Fabian." She turned to Lily, who shook her head in reply.

"Hang on," replied James, "who said anything about Sarah going with _Fabian_? I was pretty sure that it was Gideon who she was with. Fabian likes her sister Anna."

"That's weird," remarked Lily talking to Nat, not the boys. "Sarah and Fabian were sitting together at Sirius' party. I thought that they liked each other."

"I remember Sarah saying that Anna had told her that she liked someone older, but when I asked Sarah who Anna liked, she wouldn't say," said Sirius, who, to Lily's annoyance, replied to her statement instead of Nat.

"Shhh," said Remus, nodding his head towards the door. They all turned to see Sarah and Gideon entering, laughing together.

Sarah spotted the group and pointed them out to Gideon. He nodded his head and they began making their over to the table.

"Hi guys,' said Sarah, as she slid in beside Lily. I was wondering where you'd all gone."

"Sarah," said Gideon, glancing across the room at a distant table, "I think that I'll go and lave you with you're friends. Daniel's over there, so I'll go sit with him. Is that alright?"

Sarah smiled to herself. "Ok, I'll see you at school." With a wave goodbye, Gideon turned and made his way over to Sarah's brother, Daniel.

Once Gideon was out of ear shot, Nat began to whisper,

"What's going on with you a Gideon? I thought that you and Fabian were, you know, 'together."

"No, Fabian likes someone else," replied Sarah, purposely answering only half the question.

Nat raised her eyebrows. She knew Sarah would not answer the remainder of the question if she didn't want to. Especially not with the Marauder's sitting opposite them.

"Well, I have some shopping to do," said Lily, nudging Nat slightly, "So we might leave."

She glanced at Nat and Sarah. They'd got the message, and slid out of the booth.

Once outside, they noticed that everyone was heading in the direction of Hogwarts. They stopped a second year as he ran by and asked him why everyone was heading up so early.

"Dumbledore has called everyone back up because he says that it's time for the Quidditch teams to be named," he replied, his face wild with excitement.

The girls followed the crowd back up to Hogwarts, not at all upset that they hadn't gone shopping.

Once everyone was seated in the Great Hall, Dumbledore stood up, along with the Heads from the three other schools.

"The panel of teachers has made their final decisions about the Quidditch teams for each school," said Dumbledore, smiling at all the students.

"The team for Braveheart is as follows… Alex Furnick, Matthew Trest, Derrick Lorton, Albert Oregon, Terrance Fagan and Richard Gregorio."

Claps and whistles echoed through the hall as the seven members of the Braveheart team rose in their seats. They sat when the applause had subsided.

"The Beauxbatons team consists of…" continued Dumbledore, but Lily chose to tune out while Dumbledore named the Beauxbaton and Durmstrang teams. Finally, Dumbledore announced the Hogwarts team.

"And the Hogwarts team is… Fabian Prewett, Gideon Prewett, Sirius Black, Amos Diggory, Rudolphus Lestrange, James Potter and Natalie Mercury."

Wild cheers erupted from three of the four Hogwarts tables, but the Gryffindor table cheered the loudest. Five out of the seven players selected were from Gryffindor.

ooooooo

_**Dream:**_

James was walking out of the castle, down to the tree by the lake. Sirius, Remus and Peter were with him. They had just finished their OWLS at the end of fifth year.

Sitting under the tree, James pulled out a golden snitch and began to play with it, all the while glancing across the lake where he knew Lily Evans and her friends were sitting.

Minutes passed before any of the Marauders realized that Severus Snape was sitting in the bushes behind them. He rose to his feet and began to walk away when James called out to him.

He whirled around, wand at the ready, but he was to slow (again). There was a flash of light and seconds later Snape found himself dangling upside down from the tree.

Lily Evans raced around the lake. Upon reaching the place where Snape was upside down, she asked James to let Snape down. He refused, but said that if she would go out with him, he would change his mind. She refused and commented that she would rather go out with the Giant Squid. She pulled out her wand and pointed it directly at James. James, using what little common sense he had back then, knew that Lily was extremely good at charms and hexes, so he let Snape down saying, 'be glad Evans is here to save your neck.'

'I don't need your help, Mudblood, Snape replied, getting to his feet.

'Apologize to Evans,' roared James

'I don't want _you_ to make him apologize, Potter,' replied Lily coolly and she turned and stormed away.

_**End dream:**_

James was lying on his back in his four-poster bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had just had a dreamed about last year and thinking about what Lily had said today.

He _had_ matured, to some degree, since the previous year. Lily just failed to see that. Ok, so he kept on asking her out, so what. Why could she see that it wasn't some childish thing and that he really did like her. If she only knew what I was really like, thought James and he rolled on his back and fell back to sleep.

**Hey everyone!**

**I'm finally on holidays! This chapter has taken me a while to write cause of all the things that happen at the end of a school year, but I'll have heaps more time to write now I'm on holidays. Also, I've written a Ginny/Harry one-shot. i'm trying to write about as ay of the characters as possible, so let me know what you think.**

**PadfootsLuva: **i changed the names cause i didn't like them and I thought that they were boring. I changed the big blocks of writing into smaller ones.

**majik man**: thanx for the review. Your review made me laugh. Keep reviewing

**softlove91:** ive gone back and changed the huge paragraphs and made them smaller. The new girl may or may not end up making an appearance. Sorry about the name change, I hated the names. ;)

**riduculouslyriddikulus: **thanx for the review. Plz keep reading.

**chixsta: **thanx for the tip about writing big blocks. I went and changed the huge blocks. Also I have changed the name of the head of Beauxbatons. The 4 schools are Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durnstrang and Braveheart. Yes this is my first fanfic. I'll try to write about lily/james thing in a bit more depth.


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